


Broken Promises

by TheBadIdeaBears



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blind Roy Mustang, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Eye Gouging, Eye Trauma, F/M, Horror, Human Transmutation, Hurt Roy Mustang, Promised Day, Psychological Horror, Regret, Sad Ending, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:41:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27301372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBadIdeaBears/pseuds/TheBadIdeaBears
Summary: The Promised Day is here but fighting the inevitable wave of horror is proving harder for Roy Mustang than he had thought it would and a run in with the Truth is the last thing that he needs.
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Broken Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, Holly here, Happy Halloween! So as something a bit darker Pandora asked for some FMA Promised Day horror so I hope you all enjoy what I came up with (sorry if you're squeamish ^_^)!

It never ends. When all is said and done life is a ceaseless stream of what feels like failures that play over and over again in Roy's mind. He wasn't able to kill Envy and avenge Maes, he wasn't able to do anything as Ed disappeared right before his eyes and there's been nothing he can do to land any kind of hit on the gold toothed doctor. With him surrounded by so many of the Wrath rejects he's clearly protecting himself with an expendable wall of flesh. No matter how many of them they cut down more seem to be surrounding them and Roy doesn't know how much more he can take.

“I think this has gone on for long enough,” Gold Tooth says. With a click of his fingers Roy is tackled from behind by one of the larger Wrath rejects while two others grab his arms, forcing them apart so that he's unable to fight back. Another one of them grabs Riza, forcing her to her knees and holding a sword to her throat.

“No!” Roy shouts, struggling against the men holding him.

“Now we're on a tight schedule here and you're the perfect candidate Colonel Mustang,” Gold Tooth says.

“Perfect candidate for what?” Roy snaps, glaring daggers at him but still keeping half an eye on the sword against Riza's throat. Even in this darkness he can see the sword pressing into her skin, biting at her neck.

“Why as a sacrifice of course,” Gold Tooth says. “Firstly though we need you to perform human transmutation in order to be ready.”

“Get fucked,” Roy spits.

Gold Tooth sniggers. “I thought you might say that so I thought of a way to convince you, make you see sense.”

“The Elric brothers told me that it's not possible,” Roy says, desperation evident in his voice as Riza gasps in pain. “Human transmutation can't be done! It's impossible.”

Gold Tooth clicks his fingers again and, with a flash of steel, the one holding the sword slits Riza's throat. “Now the question is are you going to believe the word of two teenage boys who only ever cause you trouble or are you going to try and save her life?” he asks.

“Lieutenant!” Roy screams, voice cracking, as he struggles against the men holding him. Gut clenching he watches, helplessly, as Riza falls to the floor, blood pouring from the open wound at her neck.

“Time's running out Colonel Mustang,” Gold Tooth laughs manically as Roy finally breaks away from the two holding him and rushes to Riza's side.

“Lieutenant,” Roy cries, scooping her up in arms. “Stay with me Lieutenant!”

“Sir...” she says softly, unfocused eyes gazing up at him.

“Don't try to talk,” he tells her. “We'll get you a medic, get you some help and you'll be alright.”

“Are you really willing to take that chance Colonel?” Gold Tooth asks. “It would be so easy to just use human transmutation, then you wouldn't have to risk her life.”

“Don't do it sir,” Riza says, her voice weak. “Don't throw everything away because of me, it's not worth it.”

Roy opens his mouth to speak but before he has the chance a gunshot rings out. It takes a moment for him to register exactly what has happened but he catches the lifeless look that falls over Riza's eyes, blood running down from a hole in her forehead as the Xingese girl screams behind them.

“Lieutenant,” Roy says softly, shaking Riza slightly in his arms, hoping to rouse her. “Lieutenant... Lieutenant!” His cries of anguish become louder until they ring out in the stone chamber. Warm, wet blood begins to coat his trousers but it doesn't feel real – nothing does – as tears spill down his cheeks. Riza's limp body is a dead weight in his lap and there's nothing he can do to change that.

“It doesn't have to be this way Colonel,” Gold Tooth tells him. “You can bring her back to the way she was, it would be so simple.”

Roy looks up at him and white hot fury flood his veins. The gun in Gold Tooth's hand – Riza's own gun – is still smoking from the barrel and Roy wants nothing more than to cause him as much pain and suffering as possible. Without even stopping to think he clicks his fingers, sending a jet of fire careening towards Gold Tooth but before it can reach its mark it's swallowed by a huge shadow that materialises out of thin air.

“That's quite the temper you've got there Mustang,” a familiar voice says, “but then again when it comes to your bitch you always did let your emotions get the better of you.” Roy turns to see Bradley... no, Wrath standing in the doorway and the fury intensifies.

“You bastard!”

“Now, now,” another voice says, causing Roy to turn again and see the short stature of Pride smirking at him, “you can either sit there and get mad or you can do something.”

“Human transmutation has never been so easy,” Gold Tooth says, his smile growing wider and more manic by the second.

Something in Roy seems to break as he looks back down into Riza's bloodied face. He can't leave her like this, despite what Ed and Al told him about what can happen to him he just can't let it end like this. Looking back up at Gold Tooth his voice catches in his throat. “Will it really bring her back?” he asks, a slight crack in his voice.

“Of course it would,” Pride says, his voice silky and persuasive. “The array is already cast, all you need to do is activate it and she'll be back with you.”

If Riza were still here he knows that she would tell him not to; she would tell him that if he did then she would shoot him but she's not here anymore. She's dead and there's only one thing he can do that could change that. Closing his eyes he lowers Riza's body to the floor and places his hands on the ground next to her so that he can complete the array. Part of him knows that it's futile but that part is no longer with him, it died along with Riza and he no longer cares what happens to him.

When he opens his eyes all he can see is white; endless white that stretches infinitely both in front of and behind him. Turning on the spot in a vain attempt to find some other sign of life Roy looks around but, so far, it's more of the same expanse of white. The silence that surrounds him is almost suffocating and he begins to wonder if he's actually just died. If this is some kind of afterlife though then it is most definitely not heaven.

“Hello,” he calls out, voice echoing around him, not even knowing if he'll get any kind of answer in return. “Is anyone there?”

“Ah it's the man who's always looking to the future and he's come to pay me a visit,” a voice says and Roy whips around.

Sitting in front of a large door that appears to be made out of solid stone is the strangest figure Roy has ever laid eyes on. It's humanoid in shape but most definitely not human – it seems more like a silhouette. All that Roy can see of the face is a huge feral grin as the thing in front of him stares back at him (at least he assumes it's staring). Upon reflection Roy realises that he should have asked Ed and Al what it was like to perform human transmutation and what happened to you if you did... not that they would have told him even if he had. Clearing his throat he regroups himself and speaks.

“Can I ask where I am?”

“You're in the Realm of Truth and I am its keeper,” the figure says.

“Its keeper?” Roy asks, brow furrowed in confusion. “So does that make you the keeper of the truth?”

“Some people call me the keeper of the truth, yes, while others call me the truth itself.”

“And what do you want with me?” Roy asks.

“You're the one who entered my realm,” the Truth says, the grin becoming more manic, “surely I should be asking you that question.”

“I... ah...” Roy hedges. Of course he is here for a reason but should he just dive in and ask for it?

“Of course I know why you're here,” the Truth continues, “I know everything.”

“Then you can help me?” Roy asks, that tiny bubble of hope in his chest beginning to swell slightly. _If she came back to me somehow... it will make it worth it._

“You can't have something for nothing you know,” the Truth says as if that really should be obvious.

Instantly Roy jumps to answer. “I'll do anything!” he cries. “Any price, I'll pay it just...” His voice cracks slightly at the thought of Riza lying cold on the floor where he's just come from. “Please bring her back to me, I need her.”

“Any price?” the Truth asks. “She must be very important to you if you're willing to pay any price in order to have her back.”

Roy's chest aches and he want nothing more than to scream in anguish. The pain seems worse now than when he first realised she had been shot. Maybe his emotions are heightened because of where he is. His voice sticks in his throat when he tries to talk and it hurts to breathe as he feels himself crumbling under the pressure. Everything is agony – every fibre of his being is beginning to ache like nothing he's ever felt in his life before. _It's too much..._

“I think we should take a look and see if you deserve to have her back,” the Truth says and, before Roy's eyes the white expanse that surrounds him begins to change, slowly at first but then faster and faster.

His entire body burns as the space around him is encased in flames, closing in on him like he's standing in the heart of a fire. They don't appear to be touching him but he can feel the heat and the burn on his skin as if he were trapped in a raging blaze. A scream of pain tears itself from his throat as the relentless burning continues. His blood boils, skin cracks and his eyes seem to melt in their sockets but he manages to see faces coming out of the flames, seeming to mock him. Envy, Lust and thousands of nameless Ishvalans all coming out of the flames to claw at his skin but leaving no mark or any other sign that they have made any impression at all. The pain is maddening and Roy thinks he may die if he has to endure it any longer.

“So how many people did you burn your way through to get to where you are?” the Truth asks.

Almost as soon as it began the pain stops. Roy falls to his knees panting as if he's run a marathon. Looking up at the Truth he gasps for breath. “Please...”

“Is that what they said?” the Truth asks. “Did they plead for their lives when you snuffed out their lives with your flames?”

The pain is back again but this time it's just down his back and he knows what this supposed to be penance for. This is what he did to Riza when she begged him to rid her body of the secrets of Flame Alchemy. It's the same as before – he knows that there won't be a single mark on him but it's almost too much for him to endure. Surely he'll go mad, surely he won't be able to withstand feeling this white hot agony for much longer.

A sudden explosion hits him, full force, in the centre of his head and his body becomes momentarily paralysed. His eyes stare but he doesn't really see, he feels everything and nothing at the same time and time itself seems to have stopped. Was this what she felt? Was this what Riza's final moments were like when she was shot because the pain seems to be lingering for Roy or was it over in seconds? Did she feel anything at all or was it simply a sharp pain and then blank nothingness?

“So how does it feel?” the Truth asks, and Roy is instantly freed from the paralysis.

Falling forward he catches himself on his hands, feeling small and childlike in the wake of this being that seems able to inflict so much pain and suffering while barely even trying. “No more,” he says in the smallest voice. “Please no more, I can't take it.”

“You should have considered that before,” the Truth says.

“How could I have done?”

“You knew the price for human transmutation,” the Truth says. “Those boys told you what happens to people who commit the ultimate taboo.”

“But...” Roy stammers, struggling for words. “But I was... I know I shouldn't have done it but I couldn't leave her like that. I had to try, I had no choice!”

“Do you want to know what would have happened if you really had no choice?” the Truth asks.

“What?”

The fire surrounding them immediately disappears and in it's place Roy is confronted with a cinematic view of Riza – blood spurting from the wound at her neck but the longer Roy watches no shot comes. Lips in the image move but the only thing Roy hears is a rushing in his ears. He watches with mounting horror as the Xingese girl runs forward, using her Alkahestry to heal Riza's wound. Stomach sinking Roy sees Gold Tooth be used by Pride as he and Wrath force Roy to open the Portal of Truth and perform human transmutation. Heart in his throat the realisation begins to dawn on him: it never mattered, this was going to happen anyway and she could have been saved if things had gone differently. If only Gold Tooth hadn't picked up her gun...

A sound like a dying animal begins to ring in Roy's ears and, as he feels tears begin to stream down his cheeks, he realises that it's coming from him. Screams wrench from his chest until his lungs burn and his voice cracks, finally dying down to nothing. His eyes slip closed, sending more tears tracing down his cheeks as the weight of the world crashes down around him; _it was all for nothing_ repeating over and over in his head like a mantra.

“So now do you see?” the Truth asks. “Humans have no control over anything. You may think you do but those arrogant enough to try and play god will always end up paying the ultimate price.”

“Price?” Roy asks, looking up.

The sight he's met with when he does is no longer the Truth with its self satisfied grin. What he sees instead is something twisted, burnt and rotting waiting for him. It's also humanoid... it definitely has some aspects of a human shape but it's something less than human. Roy knows what burnt, decaying flesh smells like and the stench fills his nostrils making the urge to vomit spring to life in his throat. Lank hair falls in front of what should have been a face and it seems to see out of eyeless sockets. Breath in his throat Roy watches as, slowly, the thing in front of him raises a spindly arm and begins to crawls towards him.

He doesn't have to ask what this _thing_ is to know: this is what he's bought back instead of Riza. Paralysed once again Roy stays kneeling in place, watching as the creature makes its slow way over to him. Inch by inch it drags itself towards him and he does nothing to prevent it or to escape. Even when he feels its burnt, crusted hands on him, as it pulls itself up to face him. Even when its rank, rotting breath fills his nostrils he still doesn't move. It leans closer and only then does Roy return to life.

Surprisingly the creature is a lot stronger than Roy would have thought as it manages to claw hold of his face. Despite his desperate struggling, despite him trying to burn it with his alchemy (his ignition gloves no longer seeming to work) it brings its face closer to his. Jaw opening obscenely wide, like a snake's, it leans closer. A string of saliva caught between it's top and bottom teeth breaking is the last thing Roy sees before its mouth closes over his right eye. Cold fear fills him as he feels a sucking sensation around the socket and then pain.

As the thing pulls back Roy sees blood dripping down from its lipless mouth to his chin. Roy's stomach drops and he instantly resumes his fight, with renewed vigour but to no avail. Once again the creature brings its face to Roy's eye; there is sucking, there is pain and then Roy can see nothing at all. A sickening squelching sound fills his ears – a sound that he doesn't need to see to know what it means – before that smug voice is back again, this time right by his ear.

“Let's see how well you can look into your future now,” the Truth says.

A sudden rushing sound fills his ears, Roy feels a lurching in his stomach and then a flurry of sound. Footsteps rush towards him and he hears Ed's voice as if from far away but he's not fully paying attention. Reaching a tentative hand to his face he feels through his gloves something tacky coating his cheeks. Frantic hands suddenly grab his shoulders and he feels himself being turned to face someone.

“Fuck!” he hears Ed gasp, the sound suddenly bringing Roy back to the real world with a shattering clarity. The anguished screams of pain that erupt from him drown out Ed's voice as he desperately calls for help, to get someone who can stop the bleeding. As Roy's screaming begins to die down he hears Ed assuring him that everything will be okay but both of them already know it won't be. Riza is gone and nothing will ever be 'okay' again. He'll have to endure this for the rest of his life because it never end. It never fucking ends.


End file.
